(CROWD CHEERING)
(PLAYING METAL ON METAL)
# Metal on metal
# Feeling the grind
# Up go the hammers
# A victim to find
# Metal on metal
# Heads start to bang
# Denim and leathers, chains that clang#
Come on, now!
# Keep on rockin'
# To this metal tonight
# Keep on pounding
# Join the heavy metal fight#
MALCOLM DOME: I remember the first time
I heard Metal On Metal.
You gotta hear it. It's so heavy.
It's heavier than anything you've ever heard.
When Anvil first showed up on the scene,
it was like, "f*ck!
"This is cool. This is a statement."
Like, literally, these guys are going to turn
the music world upside down.
Seeing them was like
a challenge to us to say,
"Well, if we can't be better than that,
then we should just go home."
# Metal on metal
All the people back from stage!
# Metal on metal
They're a great band, yeah.
I always liked Anvil. They got my vote.
If you actually had to choose
one band and one album
that really started the whole ball rolling,
it would be Metal On Metal
and it would be Anvil.
The minute you heard Anvil,
the minute you heard the music,
the minute you saw the pictures,
the minute you heard the story,
you could tell that this was the real deal.
(HEAVY METAL MUSIC PLAYING)
Anvil was one of those bands that just
put on this really amazing live performance.
Lips, the singer, used to come out
with this bondage harness on
and he used to come out with this dildo
and play his Flying V.
I mean, it was just complete insanity,
and that's why it was
such a huge turn-on for us kids.
It was like something we'd never seen before.
(PLAYING SOLO)
They were thrash, man.
They were a fast band.
And you're talking about
a year before the big ,
Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth.
There's a certain sound
that comes from that album
that has become one of the basic formulas
for any heavy metal record made today.
We were talking about Robb Reiner, like,
he was by far the best metal drummer
out there, in terms of his ability.
He was the guy. There was a "holy shit".
They were all good.
There wasn't a bad guy in the band.
They were all great at what they did.
They should have made it a lot bigger.
I don't really understand the reason why.
Sometimes life deals you a tough deck.
I don't know what happened.
Why did they just fall off the radar?
I really have no idea.
You have to be at the right place
at the right time. That's the whole thing.
If you're not at the right place
at the right time, you will never do it.
I don't know if there was an isolation thing
because of the Canadian element,
or whatever,
but something didn't translate
all the way up to the next level.
They never really got the respect
that they deserved after a while
because, as big as an influence
as they had on everybody,
everybody just sort of ripped them off
and then, sort of, just left them for dead.
This is where it begins. Basically, it's : .
I'm not sure what they're serving up today.
It's probably, I don't know.
From week to week, it slightly changes.
Every day it's a different menu
but in different orders.
Let's say one week they have pizza,
shepherd's pie,
and then the next week
they'll have shepherd's pie, then pizza.
You know, put it out of order,
out of the order from the week before.
If they happen to make shepherd's pie
or something like that,
this week they'll make meatloaf
next week on that day.
They'll rally between meatloaf
and shepherd's pie
or meatballs with mashed potatoes.
You know, just depends.
(PEOPLE CHATTING)
-I can't believe it. You're so cynical.
-Where's the bucks?
LIPS: Today is a Monday schedule, which is,
they have to put bananas in all the deliveries.
You see, there's racks, routes,
vans, drivers
and I'm one of those drivers.
For all this horrible shit
that I've got to go through,
I've got Anvil that gives me my happiness
and it works out really good,
because even though
Anvil doesn't give me pay,
it gives me the joy and the pleasure
that you need to get through life.
The way I look at it, really, is that it could
never be worse than what it already is.
If it never got better, that's the way it is.
You see what I'm saying?
So, the only way that it could really...
It could only get better.
It can't get worse from whatever's
going to happen. There's no way.
But, on the other hand, if it did get worse,
at least, this time, after all's said and done,
I can say that all has been said and done.
Instead of,
"I've left a whole bunch of things undone
"and I wasn't able to do that
and I couldn't do this
"and I didn't do that
and I should have been this way
"and I could have been that way."
At least, this time, I'll do everything
that it possibly takes to get there.
To make the success happen
and feel it from internally this time.
(DRILLING)
-MAN: How's it going with the band, man?
-Great, man. We're writing our new album.
(LAUGHS)
f*ck, I'd rather be on a stage
than doing this, you know.
At the moment, it gives me purpose.
It's part of my psychoactive
therapy sessions.
And my doctor says I'm doing well,
you know.
So, that's it. But, yeah,
give me another stage and another party
and I'm really happy.
(DRUMS PLAYING)
(CHEERING)
LIPS: I love to entertain. It's part....
It's in my soul.
Nothing is like being in the face of your fans.
There's a moment,
and there are actual beautiful moments,
human moments, where you're actually,
you're in the same room
as the people that love you.
MAN: Yeah!
Hello there, Toronto!
MAN: Yeah!
(METAL ON METAL PLAYING)
# Keep on rockin'
to this metal tonight
# Keep on rockin'
Keep on rockin'
Robb, he's come over to my place
so many times delivering CDs, T-shirts.
Yeah, Robb's been amazing, for sure.
They wrote a tune after him and me,
Cut Loose and Mad Dog.
# I'm just a mad, bad dog
(CHUCKLING)
(BOTH HOWLING)
I've gone to probably
or shows of Anvil.
We've been to Oshawa, Sudbury,
we used to travel with them.
It's an outlet, why not?
People do other bad things in life.
It's a good outlet, metal.
(ALL CHANTING)
Yeah, to my dying day, the metal for sure.
"I'd rather be a king below
than a servant above.
"I'd rather be free and hate
than a prisoner of love.
"Six, six, oh, six. Six."
(EXCLAIMING)
(CROWD CHEERING)
This is going to be
the best birthday I've ever had.
Something like that.
(CROWD CHEERING)
REINER: The tunes that we have
for the upcoming album
are f*cking, like, unbelievable.
The feels, the riffs, the grooves, the lyrics,
pure, f*cking magic.
(HEAVY METAL MUSIC PLAYING)
LIPS: Most people only know us
for our first albums,
Hard 'N' Heavy, Metal On Metal
and Forged In Fire.
But there's a lot of other stuff,
like Backwaxed, Strength Of Steel,
Pound For Pound,
Live Past Or Present, Worth The Weight,
Plugged In Permanent,
Absolutely No Alternative, Speed Of Sound,
Plenty Of Power,
Still Going Strong and Back To Basics.
Me, Lips, we put this band together
about years ago,
but we've been playing together in a band
since we were , years old.
-This is where we learnt how to play.
-Yeah.
Yeah, this is a lot of the beginnings
of our whole friendship,
our relationship with the band and life.
It all happened here.
Every day on the way home from school
I hear this blasting music
coming from that window right there.
Whoever's playing to this music
is playing tight. It's a drummer.
It's f*cking, like,
shits coming out of their eyes.
Anyway, I meet this guy in my biology class
and he goes,
"Hey, man, I'm going to get this guy,
Robb Reiner.
"He lives over at the corner of the Almans'."
All I could see was this speaker
that was sitting in the window
and heavy music like either Sabbath
or Grand Funk or Cactus,
a lot of Cactus. The guy really liked Cactus.
And I go...
(CAR HONKING)
"Who could possibly like Cactus?"
We had one that we wrote
called The Lola Song
and it had nothing to do
with the song by The Kinks.
The Lolas were a little frozen kind of treat
and it was called the Lola
and we liked them so much
we wrote a song about them.
LIPS: We were just innocent kids.
We didn't really know what we were doing.
We just started rocking out
and making this music.
(PLAYING SCHOOL LOVE)
# Out in the school yard
Little peaches play
# Rubbing their beaves
Got a lot to say
(APPLAUSE)
Today on Shirley,
"Sex, dr*gs and rock 'n' roll,
what's it doing to our kids?"
Now, let me read some lyrics from a song
called Toe Jam by the group Anvil.
"Dig a little deeper, hip your partner,
make her shout,
"back to front, side to side,
tip your cap and come inside,
"down with her fishnets, up with her skirt,
dig a little deeper, till you hit pay dirt."
(ALL LAUGHING)
As soon as he met Robb, Robb is a drummer,
and Steven wouldn't continue school.
He wasn't gonna... He gave up school.
Old Pancer's,
home of the corned beef sandwich.
I think the first song we ever wrote
-was called Thumb Hang.
-Thumb Hang. Yeah.
We were trying to write a song
about the Spanish Inquisition.
We learnt about it in history class.
They would hang people up by their thumbs
if they didn't take on Catholicism.
So, you know, I figured,
"Hey, there's a cool subject. Thumb hang."
(HUMMING)
# Thumbs will twist
# Can you resist?
# Thumb hang
f*ck, we should be doing that again.
-They're like brothers.
-DROID: They're like brothers.
I mean, it would be...
I think it would be like
splitting Siamese twins, really.
They've just always been very tight.
What, they've been around
for almost years now.
And it's just amazing how they're going to
keep on going and going and going.
They're never going to stop.
You have to structure your life around it,
I guess.
You know,
we changed our wedding date for it.
Averey was born the Friday
before he went away on the tour,
we kind of got him started.
You know,
"Gotta have this baby now, he's leaving."
-MAN: What does your dad do for a living?
-He's in a band.
-What's the name of the band?
-Anvil.
-What do you think of them?
-Pretty good.
LIPS: The band has been around so long,
it's not like a band that just got reunited.
We're in shape, we're in playing shape,
we're in writing shape.
It's not like we let it fall apart
and then we're trying to rebuild it.
We've been building it all along
and working at it.
I think it's probably got more potential now
than it ever has.
It's been an honour and a thrill
to be in this band for years.
And there was moments when I wondered,
"Is this the right place for me, or is this...
"Am I... Are there other opportunities
for me out there?"
But those thoughts don't last long
when I start thinking of,
"Yeah, I'm in Anvil."
I was a big Anvil fan for many years
growing up as a teenager.
So sometimes I still can't believe, it's like,
"Wow, I'm in Anvil! I can't believe it."
(LAUGHS) You know?
LIPS: Ivan met this girl over in Europe
by the name of Tiziana.
She's actually an agent
and she's been e-mailing me.
It looks like she's been a big fan of the band
and she's basically telling me that she has
a passion and love for metal music
and I guess we're part of that.
It looks like she's booked us a tour.
Wow, look at this. Italy, Switzerland,
Austria, France, England, Belgium, Germany.
, euro a f*cking show, man.
Holy shit, this is going to be
the biggest tour I've done in years.
When I sit at home or work
at Choice Children's Catering,
they don't know that my band even exists.
But if I happen to play, you know,
a show someplace in Europe
and one of the labels goes,
"Hey, man, that band Anvil
"that we heard about, you know,
years ago, they're playing.
"Let's go see them." That's all I need.
(SPEAKING)
LIPS: Heavy metal is a really
serious culture in Europe.
This is the stronghold.
That's why it will never, ever go away.
The Sweden Rock Festival, here we are.
Ready to rock, man. Rock and roll.
(LAUGHING)
(PEOPLE CHEERING)
Swedish Rock Festival presents to you Anvil!
(PEOPLE SCREAMING)
(HEAVY METAL MUSIC PLAYING)
Anvil!
LIPS: The foundation of the business
comes down to the fans
and the people that love your band.
And, without those people,
you really are nowhere.
(PLAYING )
(CHEERING)
We're the matinee act
and we kicked f*cking ass.
"Hello, this is Lips from the band Anvil,
and you're listening to Rock Station Kiel,
"you know it."
Okay.
And once again, please, I turn it off.
(LAUGHING)
-I'm so sorry.
-MAN: Practise.
-Yeah, okay, sorry. Again.
-"Hello, everybody...
Oh, you've got the same trousers on as...
No, actually, I have got the same trousers...
They look similar.
Michael is like the Beethoven
of lead guitar players, man.
This is where it originates from.
This is where half my style comes from.
Do you remember that?
I played with the women's vibrator?
-Anvil, Anvil.
-I love this guy, man.
You're a good man. You're a good man.
The first time I'd seen you
was across the street from where I lived,
when you played in Toronto.
-You went to a videogame place.
-Okay.
It was right across the street
from where I lived...
-Okay.
-...and that's the first place I saw you
and you were coming on to this girl
by the name of Jan Wolfman
and we've written a song
called Tall And Teasin'.
She was a really, really tall chick
with long black hair.
-I don't remember.
-I know. You don't remember.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
-I'll see you later.
-Okay.
Can you f*cking believe
the people we're meeting?
Mr Lips, nice to see you.
-How are you, man?
-Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm fine.
So you came to see us at Super Rock?
-Yeah, absolutely.
-Really, yeah?
-I was a high school student, yeah.
-Oh, really?
Yeah. You've got many fans in Japan, yeah.
But if you have a chance to go to Japan,
maybe next time, then you should do it.
-What, do it in Japan?
-Yeah, of course.
(SPEAKING)
It's great to see you, man.
It's really great to see you. Really.
Here we are backstage
trying to talk to Ted Nugent.
And...pretty interestingly...
Actually, I think that...
That's Tommy Aldridge right there.
Tommy! Tommy!
(SPEAKING)
Yeah, well, that certainly is a problem.
I can see it already.
(MUTTERING)
Until we become a real commodity,
this is what you deal with.
(READY TO RIGHT PLAYING)
(PEOPLE SCREAMING)
# Oy, oy, oy, Moishe laid a guy
# What ever happened
to my little Jewish boy?
# I send him to school
to learn and read and write
# Now he comes back
schtupping shiksas every night
Would you please ask somebody
who is just walking around for the way,
because you need to reach Smichov.
Smichov, Prague .
I'll wait on the phone and please ask them,
so I can talk to him in Czech
and try to help you to find a way.
(SPEAKING)
MAN : Is that them?
MAN : It has to be...
MAN : Yeah, it has to be.
Halle-f*cking-lujah, man! This is what
the f*ck it takes to get to f*cking Prague?
We've been circling the f*cking streets
for hours. f*ck.
The worst thing about it is,
I have to throw all my f*cking dr*gs away
for nothing.
There was, you know, all the dogs.
What f*cking dogs?
There was never going to be
any f*cking dogs, man.
(SPEAKING CZECH)
Sorry for being late,
but you've got a really complicated city
that we can't read the signs.
(PEOPLE CHEERING)
(CHANTING) Anvil! Anvil! Very good!
Anvil! Anvil! Very good! Very good!
Anvil! Anvil!
-MAN: Very good!
-Very good! Anvil! Anvil!
(ROARING)
See, I'm my own roadie. I ain't a rock star yet.
(SPEAKING)
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
What's going on here, buddy?
(INDISTINCT)
That's nice.
I guess he figures if he gives me
a bit of goulash, I'll forget about it.
(SPEAKING)
No. We're not getting f*cking paid.
Where's that f*cking club owner?
You are too late.
If I was too late,
I wouldn't have f*cking played, pal.
You're going to f*cking pay me.
MAN: Most of people goes away.
Most of people goes away.
-I did my full set.
-Sorry.
I did my work. I want to get paid.
You should have told us
you weren't paying us
before we f*cking played,
then we wouldn't have f*cking played.
You f*cking piece of shit.
You f*cking pay me. I f*cking worked.
LIPS: I'm going to kick your f*cking face in.
MAN: Are you crazy, man?
LIPS: Yeah, I am f*cking crazy.
I just worked my ass off
and you won't f*cking pay me.
You're a m*therf*cker.
I'll just give you my business card.
-I'm a lawyer.
-Okay, you're a lawyer.
You played in front of f*ck-all people
here tonight. You were screwed.
You have a shit manager.
Listen, let's be honest about this.
Right.
You, Anvil, should be playing in front of,
I don't know, , minimum people
every night in Europe. That's my opinion.
-Yeah, you're probably right.
-Given your reputation...
Given your reputation, you should be playing
in front of , people every night,
and you are not.
Now you gotta ask yourself
why you're not doing that.
-I've been asking myself that for years.
-Because you've got a shit manager.
I could answer that in one word,
words, words.
-Go ahead.
-We haven't got good management.
(SPEAKING)
Bye!
(TIZIANA EXCLAIMING)
We are here from...
In perfect time, in perfect time!
If I miss the train I have to pay double.
(SPEAKS ITALIAN)
I was so, so, so angry.
Okay, listen. You call MasterCard,
cancel your payment.
Listen, they do that.
(SPEAKING IN BROKEN ENGLISH)
For to go, for to back.
For to back is, again, invalid.
For to go now, change it.
(REINER SIGHS)
The one thing that's a really good thing,
man, is that we found those sleeping bags.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(TIZIANA YELLING IN ITALIAN)
It's not you! It's you that will play!
You understand me?
Because the promoter ask you
if you will play!
And you should answer, no!
-Stop!
-TIZIANA: Please! Today is a very big day!
(SPEAKING)
-We're not playing tonight?
-No.
What happened?
-Whatever.
-I know nothing. I don't know anything.
I'm not getting in a pissing contest
over this, okay?
"Lips, Lips, how come this, how come that?"
I don't f*cking know!
I'm just a f*cking guy, man.
I just wanted to come and do a tour.
I did everything I f*cking could
to make this as pleasant as possible
and it's been nothing but a nightmare.
The whole thing, from top to bottom.
No one listens to me when I say things.
You can imagine how I feel.
(SPEAKING)
I'm doing everything right
and I'm getting shit on.
He's going home. He's done with the band.
f*cking, he wants to sue you civilly, and...
-For what?
-I don't know.
It's so unfair to Anvil.
It's so unfair to Anvil, man.
How much more can one person put their
f*cking love and dedication into something?
How much more can one person go?
This f*cking band, man,
I need it to rise, man.
Robb, I don't want to fight with you.
Do you understand me?
Look at me.
I don't want to f*cking fight with you, man.
-Okay?
-But you did.
I know and we always end up like that.
What for?
Only to end up where we were
the day before, everything's okay.
Okay? So let's just go play
and we get on with it.
Anyway, the place is jam-f*cking-packed.
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)
(MAN COUGHING)
It's so unprofessional,
what we are going through right now.
It's f*cking... It's sad.
Welcome to Romania.
(ALL CHATTERING)
Tomorrow, it's cool.
LIPS: Tiziana's told us there's going to be
at least , to , people there.
It's a huge, huge arena.
Even the mayor of Transylvania
is supposed to show up.
ALL: Anvil!
Look at this. It's the biggest f*cking gig
and the littlest amp.
(TEASE ME, PLEASE ME PLAYING)
-Anvil very good.
-Father and son.
I'm proud of this father, he is my dad.
(ANNOUNCING IN ROMANIAN)
(MAN YELLING)
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)
(SINGING)
ANNOUNCER: Hello, people!
Behold the gods of Canadian bands,
Toronto's own Anvil!
(DRUMROLL)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(YELLING IN ROMANIAN)
-BOY: Max. Max.
-Max?
(SPEAKING)
-Yes.
-Why?
They never pay me.
. % of bands never get paid.
That's the truth.
I work every day just like everybody else.
I'm a regular person, you know?
Right now, I'm on vacation.
I leave my job and I come and I rock and roll.
And then I go back,
and it's back to the same old bullshit.
LIPS: We worked for weeks,
got paid nothing.
Not even one record company showed up.
-Have a good weekend?
-Good, thanks.
-Okay, that's good.
-How about you?
Not too bad. A bit busy.
LIPS: Sometimes things go wrong.
Things went drastically wrong.
But, at least, there was a tour
for it to go wrong on.
Tiziana was nothing but help,
her heart was in the right place
and when she said she was going to do it
with passion and love,
that's precisely what she did.
She was good to her word.
I'm grateful. I don't regret a minute of it.
By the power invested in me
by the province of Ontario,
it is my honour and delight
to declare you henceforth
to be husband and wife.
And you may kiss your bride.
(WHOOPS)
See, guitar picks.
-Yeah.
-Very neat.
(LAUGHING) All right, rock 'n' roll, baby.
(PLAYING )
MAN: So what's he given up over the years
in order to do what he wants to do?
Well, making money. He gave that up.
And that was a little difficult for me to accept
because I'd like my children to go to school
and make something of themselves.
Typical Jewish immigrant parents.
Anyone that goes into the arts
generally does not succeed.
It's a tough life and they didn't
really want that for him.
But you also couldn't understand his choice.
You also were not...
How could I... I mean, it was a tough life
that he chose for himself.
He wasn't going to be a tailor.
He wasn't going to go
into the menswear business.
Steven is not a businessman. He's an artist.
That's who he is.
He didn't want to live in mediocrity.
He'd rather live in poverty and have nothing.
He wanted to prove my father wrong, I think,
and he's been searching for that validation
since he's years old.
That this effort that he's put forth
to become a great musician
would become worth it.
REINER: They just didn't understand.
He deserved the same support that I got.
My parents were amazing.
My father and mother loved the fact
that I got interested in something
and I excelled at it very, very well.
They saw the progress,
so they were just very supportive.
He kept saying to my dad, I believe,
"I really want to play the drums.
I really love the drums, dah, dah, dah."
And it was shortly before Christmas,
I believe, and there it was.
Christmas, his first set of drums.
That's all it's been since.
Look at the blur of that stick, man.
I'm burning.
I'm smiling here, and I usually don't smile.
I was happy, man.
It was like I found something
that was going to work.
Robb's father was in Auschwitz.
He was young.
He was years old at that time.
He did anything and everything in the camp
to get that piece of bread or...
He was a fighter.
He was, you know, virtually,
"I'm going to die."
In fact, when they liberated him, he was...
He said he was getting sick, right.
But that's the kind of guy he was.
He came from...
He was a f*cking Hungarian Jew, man.
That's where my roots come from.
He was totally supportive, man.
His trip was just f*cking,
"You're happy, man, you're doing it,
I'm with you."
My father was a jeweler,
and he gave these to me
when I was years old as a gift.
I've never had them off my neck
since they were given to me.
Except the odd time
I've had a few scraps with Lips
and he's ripped them off my neck and stuff.
But I've always repaired it, you know.
LIPS: The reality is that
we're not getting any younger.
Time doesn't move backwards,
it moves forwards.
Your belly gets bigger,
your face starts to sag,
your hair falls out, you run out of time.
You've got to do it now.
(CHUCKLES)
You know, years, years, years,
you're done.
You know?
We just got to get it done. I need to see...
Personally, I always say "I", but for all of us,
I need to realise this while I can.
-That's it.
-That's it. Just while I can.
LIPS: You know, one of the main reasons
that I think that
Anvil has never really gone anywhere
is our albums have sounded like crap.
And we haven't sounded good
since Chris Tsangarides
recorded us back in the early ' s.
NARRATOR: One Toronto band
who lives and dies for their heroes
of Judas Priest, Motorhead,
Iron Maiden and others, is Anvil,
who may not be the prettiest band in town,
but, then again, never professed to be.
(METAL ON METAL PLAYING)
# Metal on metal
It's what I crave
# The louder the better
I'll turn in my grave#
NARRATOR: One of the things
Anvil has going for them
that should help them gain respect
in the marketplace
is that production of the new album
was handled by Chris Tsangarides.
Chris, you've got quite a history of doing
heavy rock bands, I understand.
Who are some of the other people
that you've been producing?
The last thing I did was
Thin Lizzie's new album, Renegade.
INTERVIEWER: Never having worked
with a Canadian band before,
-how do you find the guys?
-Yeah, great. Really.
Yeah, I think they have a lot of English
tendencies as opposed to Canadian,
and I mean that
in the nicest possible way, musically.
LIPS: At this point, I'll send him a demo tape
and hope to hell
that he is interested enough
and remembers us well enough
to get involved again.
LIPS: Do you use pop or...
-Pop.
-Pop?
Yes.
REINER: This is where I hang out sometimes,
you know.
It's just the Robbo studio music area.
This is where I hide from everybody,
you know.
Nobody bothers me down here.
I hang out here.
There's Anvil master tapes here,
but they're buried in all this junk.
These pictures here,
nobody ever sees this stuff, you know.
I like painting. I love to paint.
This is in East Germany.
I forget the name of the town.
It's on the back of the picture.
So I made a painting of it.
I like buildings.
There's a guy called Edward Hopper,
I love the guy's art style.
I find it very appealing when
you see a scene, but there's nobody in it.
I like that.
It's a very quiet place, you know.
That, right there, it's just a monument
of an anvil in a park.
But look at the size of the people.
See, I made the scale like it's big.
Right? Like the Egyptians would have,
like it's like a god.
You know, "The god is there!"
Anyways, that's what I was thinking.
This picture is what I call Left Behind.
This is what's left behind
when I'm not around no more.
So, I kind of just thought
I'd paint myself out of it.
Okay, now I will tell you
about The Grand Finale here.
This baby comes from Europe.
The inspiration for this is totally German.
If you touch or feel it or look at it,
it actually has texture.
I thought it would be the place
to put it, obviously,
because the wife definitely
didn't want it in the living room.
ANSWERING MACHINE: Message one.
Hey, Lips. Hey! It's CT here, man.
I got the tape,
and I'd like you to give me a call.
Call me here at my studio in Dover
and we'll talk further. All right, dude.
-CT!
-Hey, Lips!
-How's it going, man?
-(LAUGHING) All right, dude, how are you?
I'm doing good, man, how have you been?
-f*cking A.
-f*cking A.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
It's f*cking good to hear your voice, man.
-And yours, too. f*ck, yeah.
-f*ck!
Yeah, man, well, I listened to the tape
and, well, you know,
I want to sit down and talk to you
at length about this
but we need to sit down together
in the same room
and we'll go through this shit first
but we've definitely got...
-I think we've got something.
-That's really, really good news, man.
Holy shit.
-We have right now songs written.
-TSANGARIDES: Right.
We want to put on this record
because this album's called This is Thirteen.
-Right.
-The fact that we're still here
doing it is almost...
It has its own energy now.
- years.
-I want to just, like, "f*ck it, man,
"let's take what we've got
and let's f*cking once and for all
"try to get this channeled
in the right direction."
TSANGARIDES: We need to find about
, , , to do it.
With that minimal of investment,
we've got the potential, like you rightly say,
to continue, and we own everything.
You know what, guys, if this sells,
you know, we get so much.
If it doesn't sell, what the f*ck,
we've made a great record anyway,
we don't owe anything to anybody.
I just have this feeling.
I don't know why, I haven't got a clue.
I just know that we should do it.
It's what we all do.
Where does that leave us?
MAN: It leaves you about to record
an album with CT.
He's a genius.
At this point, it looks like
I'm going to have to...
We're going to have to take further steps.
It's really bad because, of course,
this is an expense.
We don't know whether to
take initiative now or wait.
So much is riding on it.
Here I've got this incredible opportunity
to work with one of the world's greatest
producers and it costs a fortune.
I have no idea where I'm going
to get that kind of money.
(MAN SPEAKING)
Why, they are stunning!
Did you know that %...
...Ray bans or Gucci's, he's gonna see...
Get outta town! Where the hell
did you get those glasses
and where can I get a pair for myself?
CUT LOOSE: You gotta be dedicated
and you gotta want it
and if you're loud and enthusiastic
and energetic,
you can make yourself
a shit whack of money here.
Read the pitch word for word, okay?
That's what's going to make you money here.
You read the pitch word for word.
The pitch is designed basically
so that if a monkey could read,
he'd make bucks a week.
Hello, may I please speak to Bob?
Many a times as a fan, I've been there for him
and now he's here for me
but he's also here for himself.
Bob, these are gorgeous.
They're made in Italy by RL.
They're called Vipers.
These are identical to the ones Keanu Reeves
wore in the movie The Matrix.
Absolutely gorgeous. Made in Italy by RL,
they're called the Vipers.
They say they give you
a % better chance of getting laid.
"I'm not calling to cost you money.
I'm calling to make you money.
"Try not to at least talk me out of one box."
(BELL RINGING)
Come on, buddy, pull up your pants,
grab your balls and let's do this.
-I'll tell you what I'll do for you.
-I'll tell you what I'll do.
-I've got a guy doing a golf tournament.
-I've got a guy doing a golf tournament.
-And he's doing a half a box and...
-And he's doing a half a box and...
-Okay, okay.
-Don't take okay. What?
LIPS: I've been trained
my whole life to be polite
and that job does the exact opposite.
You've got to go against everything
that you've learnt as a kid.
MAN: So why are you doing it?
LIPS: Because I thought that Lips,
the character Lips,
would have no problem with doing it,
but as it turns out
that guy is actually a lot more honest
than a telephone salesman.
Hey, Bill, it's Steve Powers from R&J.
(PHONE LINE DRONING)
You know what?
'Cause I have one of my guys...
LIPS: I worked there for a total
of probably hours in visits
and I made nothing.
I remortgaged my house...
And I'm not the only one who sits
in a really, really... Whoa, okay.
Really serious shit.
Ivan has missed his mortgage payments.
There may be a power of sale
on his home. Okay?
Like, I'm not the only one.
Glenn, G Five, he doesn't even have a home.
All of his stuff is sitting in a garage. Okay?
He rented a garage because
he hasn't got enough money to live.
No one's getting paid.
It's just, everybody believes in Lips.
That's an incredible thing.
Like a blind dedication
and I'm the only one who's got the vision.
"Lips will take us there."
"I'm going to take you there, man."
I've got this... It's been a year of it,
an absolute overwhelming year.
I'm gonna f*cking do it!
That's what it is and that's why I'm here.
I took the f*cking risk, yeah.
At what cost?
So there's cliffs I can go jump off.
That's the easy way.
Well, no, you won't jump off the cliff
'cause I'll stop you.
-That's dedication, pal.
-Seriously.
That's what's taken me , years, man.
Of having somebody dedicated to me.
He believes in me.
"Lips will get... Lips is my buddy, man.
"He's going to take...
We're going to do it together.
"We're gonna get there.
We're going to f*cking do it."
Since we were f*cking years old.
And here we sit in our f*cking s, man.
We're going to be rock stars.
It's a f*cking dream,
but I'm going to make it come true.
He will always have
what he's done in the past,
but you've got to... If it's over,
then you've got to find something else to do.
He's got a son, he's got a wife,
he's got stepdaughters, right?
I mean, he's got a mortgage,
he's got this, he's got that.
And Anvil, they tour, they don't make
a lot of money and, you know,
he's basically telling me,
"It's got to happen or I'm done."
Oh, yeah, someone has to stay home,
raising a child and work.
I've been very patient as a wife.
How long is it gonna take?
How long do I have to keep "waiting"?
They've been working hard
to try and make things work
and they're just not getting, I believe,
personally, what they deserve. That's all.
-Merry Christmas.
-Merry Christmas.
(CHATTERING)
LIPS: I've always believed that
no matter how hard it gets
or how impossible,
there's always hope
and there's always a way.
(LAUGHING)
And the most incredible thing has happened.
My sister is actually gonna help me out.
She's decided to actually lend us
the money to go do the album.
She knows how important it is
right now in my life.
And the time that this all is transpiring,
it's just an incredible, incredible thing.
That I just wish him well
and I wish him success and happiness
and that's all I've ever really wanted for him.
He's my dear brother
and I've always loved him.
LIPS: My sister.
(KISSING)
I got my big sister, man.
Cool.
-Family is important shit, man.
-Yeah.
TSANGARIDES: If people looked inside
themselves a bit more
and think, "Well, why didn't my record sell?"
Well, maybe people didn't like it,
and that's the bottom line.
The songs have not been up to muster.
Okay, that's compounded
by having crappy record labels,
crappy productions, no management,
no anything.
Just a bunch of guys on their own
trying to do this.
Now, I mean, I defy a lot of people
to get anywhere like this,
but they stuck it through.
They stuck it through
and the fact that they managed
to get contact with me
and I heard the stuff and thought,
"You know what, there's something here.
We can do something with this."
LIPS: To get an opportunity
at this point in time in history,
I think, is nothing less than a miracle.
-TSANGARIDES: Hello, brethren.
-CT vibes.
TSANGARIDES: We have HM brethren here.
(IMITATES DRUMS BEATING)
-TSANGARIDES: Yeah.
-And then come in with it.
(VOLUME INCREASES)
This is a good, little,
f*cking, catchy tune, man.
I mean, it's straightforward metal rock.
It's maybe not even, like, metal.
It could be in the pop, punk pop,
how about punk pop, metal?
(BOMBS AWAY PLAYING)
# Bombs away, bombs away
# Bombs away
# Shells explode
# Flashing light, burning fires
# Turn day to night, head on back
# Reload bay, armed again
# Bombs away
# You don't stand a chance
You know what, I'm doing some other stuff
that I wasn't anticipating.
-TSANGARIDES: That's good.
-Okay.
# Tarot cards and tea leaves
# A crystal ball
# Palm reading, candlelight
# Fortunes to tell
# Fear the unknown
# Edge of your seat in anticipation
LIPS: (SHOUTING) I don't know
what you want. What do you want?
You sit here all f*cking day, pouting,
"It's crap."
-You're causing disruption.
-REINER: Let it all out.
You'll f*cking listen to me,
you f*cking assh*le.
Look, you smile.
You're smiling at a f*cking loser.
You're a f*cking loser.
-Let it all out, man.
-That's what you are.
-Let it all out.
-Calm down, guys. Come and sit down.
It's destructive, it's negative energy.
-What are you doing?
-I'm...
You've got everything f*cking going for you.
What are you doing?
And everybody tells me that. You're right.
Everybody tells me that constantly.
You're right. I agree. So maybe...
So where are you going?
What are you doing?
I'm going to go pursue something
a little bit more satisfactory
than, I guess,
what's happening with you. Sorry.
You push me away. I'm accepting your offer.
I'm on to the next page.
Oy vey, why is this happening?
I'm f*cking sick of it.
I can't f*cking deal with it.
You know?
We're going to come apart at the seams.
I don't know what's going to happen.
I'm so f*cking fed up,
like we've got to get a drummer.
I mean, I don't know what to say. He's fired.
I mean, what can I say?
That guy lives to hurt me, man,
and be jealous. I don't even know
what the f*ck is wrong with him.
But he's f*cking,
just lives to f*cking hurt me.
(COMMENTARY ON TV)
I stayed dedicated to what?
Stayed dedicated to f*cking what?
(DOOR OPENS)
First thing I want to say is I'm sorry, okay?
Well, I would have liked to hear that...
Okay. Just look at me. Look in my eyes.
I want to talk to you, Robb.
I'm sorry. Do you understand that?
I'm under a hell of a lot of stress, okay?
If I lose my temper,
if anybody knows, you know.
I'm tired of being the fall guy. Understand?
I'm tired of it, that's all.
-I don't want negative energy around.
-f*ck you, man, there is no...
-Yes, it is!
-I'm positive.
Yes, it is, because negative energy
is when you say to me,
"Oh, you do half-assed takes
and settle for it."
That is a rude, underhanded, low blow
because I could say the same thing
about your takes.
I would never dare
because I don't feel that way.
TSANGARIDES: Sit down, sit down,
let's try reasonable voices.
So, what I can see going on here
is we're having a little bit of...
When something is said, it's over amplified,
and the recipient gets bent out of shape,
for whatever reason.
Call it cabin fever, call it...
I don't know, it's academic now.
I'm hard to live with.
-TSANGARIDES: Fair enough.
-I'm hard to live with.
(TSANGARIDES LAUGHING)
-TSANGARIDES: Fair enough. Fair enough.
-You know?
-I'm emotional. No doubt about it.
-TSANGARIDES: Yeah.
But that's what makes you what you are.
It makes all of us what we are.
REINER: Yeah, that's cool, man,
I know that's what you are, man,
but the bottom line is,
why am I your fall guy constant-f*cking-ly?
-When I'm there for...
-Because I love you, that's why.
REINER: Because I'm there for you
f*cking constantly.
TSANGARIDES: Well, he does. He does, man.
You want to hear what he says about you.
You're my f*cking brother, man.
Who else can I f*cking cry on their shoulder
or f*cking say shit to?
Who else? Who's the closest person
I've got in the world?
-REINER: I know. I know.
-Think about that.
Good.
If I can't express myself
and blow up at you, what have I got? I...
You're the closest person I have.
Well...
I'm sorry, I don't know what to say.
I'm sorry. I'm very sorry.
Okay, fine. I hear you,
it's just been so much of it, dude.
-It's just like, I don't know what the f*ck...
-We're both stressed.
I ain't stressed about nothing, man.
-I get stressed...
-Well, I am.
I get stressed when you start f*cking
blowing it out on me, dude.
Yeah, then I get stressed,
but otherwise I ain't stressed.
I'm f*cking going, "Let's go, boys.
"Let's show the f*cking world
and some of these assholes
-"that they're wrong."
-TSANGARIDES: Exactly.
Who is the one always driving that machine?
Robbo.
If you look at it,
in the great scheme of things,
it's a very, very tiny concern,
really, what we're talking about,
and the reactions from everybody
were just a little bit excessive.
Yeah. Totally. So...I need your support.
I need your bloody faith
in what I'm gonna do
to make this record sound like
the f*cking dog's bollocks, and it will.
Listen, man, I'm sorry, buddy. Okay?
Listen, I'm sorry.
I love you, you know that. Okay?
We've got a long road ahead of us.
LIPS: I still believe that there's
an overall feeling of something guiding us,
an aura around us that protects
and keeps it going
and I don't know what that is
or why it is or how it is.
Whether it's bonding between Robb and I
from since we were kids.
I don't know what it is
but it's like we're there for life.
REINER: Yeah, we're family, man.
We're close buddies, man.
Like any family,
we have our differences and stuff,
but we've always been able
to work through that stuff.
-Merlin did it.
-Merlin did it.
Either that or Satan was running
all across the countryside
and he dropped a few stones, right?
He was high, man.
He was drinking or something.
I want to touch it, man.
It has healing powers, they say.
The healing powers is the stuff that I need.
In the studio with me is Lips from Anvil
along with Chris Tsangarides,
producer of This Is Thirteen,
the name of the brand-new Anvil CD.
Welcome to California and welcome to KNAC.
Lips, what label will be putting this out?
LIPS: That's a good question.
Now that is going to be
the $ question for This Is Thirteen.
I'm looking for a manager.
I'm looking for somebody
who will properly represent the band
and get us out there playing
in the proper places.
Get us with the proper record company
that's going to put our product out there
for people to know that it's there.
Tell you what, this is going to be not only
the world premiere here on KNAC.com,
but world premiere here on the Vault.
This Is Thirteen.
(THIS IS THIRTEEN PLAYING)
# Tarot card and tea leaves
# A crystal ball
# The gypsy's kiss
# The death card's call#
I really feel that This Is Thirteen
is the best sounding Anvil album ever.
And everything is riding on it.
We're going to have all the record companies
that we can get
listen to it and, hopefully,
they'll make bids on it.
Hopefully we'll get
a real, proper record contract
and, somehow, get someplace
in this godforsaken crazy business.
-It's the new Anvil album.
-Yeah, I'll make sure he gets it.
LIPS: Hopefully, we'll have
more luck back at home.
-Hey! I'm doing okay.
-What's up?
-I'm Fraser.
-Hi, Robb Reiner.
-Robb, nice to meet you. Sit down, boys.
-Lips.
REINER: You can make
lots of money with this band.
Want to rock and make money.
There's nothing wrong with that.
(LAUGHING)
Okay, listen to number first.
(AMERICAN REFUGEE PLAYING)
# Searching for a place to hide
# Running from those you've defied
# Forsaking the land of the free#
(TURNS MUSIC OFF)
It's a bit of a challenge, to be honest.
'Cause the landscape has changed here
and it just has to...
If it's going to work here,
it has to be the right fit.
We've got to be able to give you guys
what you deserve and vice versa.
A major label should put this out
because it's not justice to have
something that sounds this good
to go out on anything less than that.
Somebody better do this justice.
It hurts so bad because everything else
was done so correctly
and that's what was wrong
with Attic Records.
It was the Metal On Metal
and the Forged In Fire albums.
Those were classic albums,
they are classic albums
but recorded for an independent
who fumbled the ball.
The history speaks for itself.
You've been around a long time
and that has currency.
That says it all, doesn't it?
It's due. I really will check it out
and listen to it and we'll see if it fits.
But we definitely won't get into something
we don't think we can do
what you guys deserve 'cause it's been,
man, being and doing this,
this is a real commitment.
I mean, it's amazing. Thanks for coming by.
-Thanks for having us.
-Really nice meeting you, man.
-That's terrific. Thanks a lot.
-Have a great day.
HILL: All right.
He said your history is worth money.
-Yeah. That's what he said.
-Yeah.
He summed it up, basically,
"It doesn't matter what the f*ck,
"that's what you got, guys."
I don't give a f*ck about anything else.
(SIGHS) This is not good.
REINER: I hate the f*cking industry,
you know?
It will never change. It will never get better.
They're all f*cking bottom-feeder,
pieces of f*ck that run the thing.
Organised criminals, you know.
Drug f*cking runners.
That's what's the business is about, right?
I hate it, man.
. % of the time, the guy never listens
to your f*cking tape.
And his desk is piled up like this
with other entries
into the lottery of rock and roll.
He's going to look at it, he goes,
"Let me see. What am I looking at?
"Okay, these guys are in their s."
And he's got another band that,
"Here, these guys are in their s. Hmm."
I would like to see him make it.
I would like to see him recognized,
his talent recognized by, you know...
I know his peers do recognize it.
But I would like to see him
become as famous as he's been trying
to become all these years.
It's over. It's been over for a long time.
And it's just too bad
no one's living in the real world.
When you've been in a band for years
and you have ...
They're working on their th album,
CD, whatever,
and you can still only get people
into a bar at any one time, it's a joke.
-It's a joke.
-Well, we'll see. I mean, I don't...
Like you said, it's just always a big,
"What if? What if?"
And, unfortunately for them,
that's what it's been like.
They've really never had a break.
Maybe back in the ' s when they were on
with Bon Jovi or whatever.
But I've just been trying to be that
supportive rock star wife, I guess,
and I've maybe wanted to
live that dream as well.
I like the scene, I like the music.
I like the bands,
always liked the bands and the music.
I just fell into that ' s scene and I liked it.
I liked the hair, I still, the hair bands,
it's still me,
and nowadays you just...
You keep dreaming that dream, but
I'm still dreaming, I guess,
as much as what they are.
The album is a success
whether it sells or million,
it will make no difference to me on the level
of whether it was successful or not.
It was successful because, to me,
it sounds the best we've ever sounded
and that's a success.
Voila, Anvil CDs, man.
To mass-produce , CDs,
you're looking at basically in around
a buck, a buck and a half per CD.
LIPS: There it is, man.
Wow. This Is Thirteen.
People want this.
We get e-mails and people freaking out,
"Where the f*ck is this album?"
So we got to get it out.
It's an amazing album. I love it.
LIPS: There's no sense waiting
for some pitkins from a record company.
It's pointless.
We're selling it directly to our fans,
who are the people that you did it for
to begin with,
and now there's no one
in between you and them.
I think it's the way to go.
I think it's the way to go
that's going to be for all bands.
I mean, it's not like we're unknown.
We've got a great head start
because we've been around for years,
so I think, at a very minimum,
we're going to do okay.
(SHOUTING)
GINNY: The band is really...
It's more than just his career,
but it still is, at the end of the day, his job.
It defines a little bit of the person who he is,
but it's still the person.
And even if the band doesn't go
or become famous or whatever,
he's still the same person.
And I'm in love with the person,
I'm not in love with the band.
-How was skateboarding?
-Good.
Good, bad, whatever. Okay.
GINNY: Put your stuff down,
we ordered pizza, okay?
Wow.
GINNY: He's very focused on family.
Whether I complain that he's not
or he's not, he really is.
I think that's one of, maybe,
a greatest criticism
and maybe why he withdraws from me
is that when I criticize him,
and it has to do with family,
he internalizes that way too much.
And so that's...
While the band is his dream
and a bit of who he is,
I think even he knows at the end of the day
that the family is what's important.
Look what you made me do.
You made me cry.
(LAUGHS)
Got stuck in the tree.
-Does that count as a point?
-No.
Oh, - .
(HEAVY METAL MOBILE PHONE RINGTONE)
Okay, thank you very much.
I'll speak to you soon.
I've got to call Robbo.
We just got a gig in Japan. I'm serious, man.
f*cking right. Okay, I'll speak to you after.
Right, bye.
Next, okay.
LIPS: We've sent the album out
all over the place
and this Japanese promoter heard it
and he's invited us to play
in this massive show in Tokyo.
See, everything turns into something else.
You get on the phone, and then,
all of a sudden, now we're busy.
It feels like an incredible force
of déjà vu going on.
I feel like I've lived this moment
for sure before.
Last time I was here, I was in my s.
It's really hard to believe that,
f*ck, a quarter of a century is gone
since I was last here.
It's good to be back,
but I find out from the promoter
that we're on at : a.m.
I came all this distance, did all...
Everything that it took to get here
and now what am I worried about?
Is anybody going to show up?
I've been in a situation where
I've had people in a place that
holds , and it's not a good feeling.
It really isn't.
It would be very disappointing
if there's less than people
because, from what I understand,
it's a very, very large place.
Listen, for me, I'll play for no one.
I don't give a shit.
I love to play, just to hear the sound
and create that vibe of being Anvil.
I live for that anyway.
But it's everybody else that goes with that.
The people that have spent the money
to bring you there and everything.
My heart goes out to that aspect, too.
What if no one gets there?
Shit, man, it's not a good thing.
Japan.
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
(DRUMS REVERBERATING)
-Anvil!
-Anvil!
Anvil!
-Anvil!
-Anvil!
LIPS: A lot of times I close my eyes
during the show and I think about
the place is full and everybody's freaking out
and I try to pretend that it's all good
and I really deal with it afterwards
when a promoter comes up to me and goes,
"Well, Lips, I can't pay you
what we originally hoped to pay you."
So it would be a really sad moment,
I think, to come this distance
all for people or something.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(PLAYING METAL ON METAL)
# Metal on metal
It's what I crave
# The louder the better
I'll turn in my grave
# Metal on metal
Ears start to bleed
# Cranking it up
Fulfilling my need
# Metal on metal#
Get them up!
# Metal on metal#
All the people back from the stage.
# Metal on metal
ALL: Metal on metal!
# Metal on metal
Come on, let me hear you!
# Metal on metal
Metal on metal
We love you, Japan!
(CROWD CHEERING)
LIPS: It goes far beyond
writing a good song.
It has nothing to do with the song.
It has to do with a matter of attitude,
what you're willing to settle for,
who you're willing to work with
and having a good time with my life,
enjoying my life.
That's the most expensive thing in life
and the most valuable things in life,
is your relationships,
the people that you know,
the places you've been
and the experiences you've had.
Oh, Godzilla!
LIPS: I started out with Robb
when I was , years old
and we said, "We're going to do it till
we're old men." We really meant that.
We had that minutes of fame
and then it's gone.
So that's the way I kind of look at it.
So I was lucky enough to have that moment,
and I've made, basically...
It was enough of a moment that it prolonged
and gave me a career that's years long.
So it was a great achievement,
a fantastic achievement.
Nothing to ever look down at
or not to be proud of
and that's the way I really look at it.
You don't think about it. Life flies by, man.
That's all I'm learning here, you know.
Before you know it, life's done.
And it didn't seem that long.
That's what Robbo was learning
about a lot of things.
The music lasts forever.
Maybe the debt does, too,
but the bottom line is,
the music lasts forever and that's the art
and that's the most important thing.
There's tons of bands that can sell
millions of records, obviously,
but how many bands
can you think of, honestly,
that have stayed together for years?
You've got a couple. You've got
The Rolling Stones, you've got The Who,
and you've got Anvil.